Photographic shutter.



k Fig.2. I WITNESSES.

F. P. WHITEHEAD. PHOTOGRAPHIG SHUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY19, 1909.

Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

3 SHEBTS- 1531 1.

F. P. WHITEHEAD. PHOTOGRAPHIG SHUTTER. APPLIGATION FILED JULY 19, 1909.

976,712. Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

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llllll IIIIM I Hi IIIIIII lllllllllll ngmlllll P. P. WHITEHEAD.

PHOTOGRAPHIO SHUTTER. APPLICATION FILED JULYIQ, 1909.

976,712,. Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

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W15 mourns PETE 15 (50-. WASHlNETl/N, 11cm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK PHILIP WHITEHEAID, OF IBALl-IAM, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THETHORNTON-PICKARD MANUFACTURING COMPANY LIMITED, OF AL'IRINGHAM, ENGLAND,A CORPORATION OF GREAT BRITAIN.

IPI-IOTOGRAPHIC SHUTTER.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK PHILIP lVi-IITE- HEAD, a British subject,residing at Balhaln, London, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Photographic Shutters, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in photographic shuttersof the class known as self-capping shutters in which two blinds ofopaque material are employed mounted on rollers at opposite sides of theshutter the two blinds moving together with an aperture between theiredges to eifect an exposure and the capping blind returning across thelens before any movement of the other blind to reset the shutter foranother exposure.

The invention is designed to provide suitable means or mechanism toautomatically return the capping blind to its position covering the lensimmediately after an exposure has taken place and comprises aconstruction and arrangement of the mechanism for operating the blindssimultaneously in one direction and separately or independently in thereverse direction and for adjusting one blind to the other to regulatethe width of the exposure aperture.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

Figure 1. is a side elevation of the shutter with the mechanism innormal position. Fig. 2. is a side elevation showing part of themechanism set for an instantaneous exposure and ready to be released.Fig. 3. is a side elevation showing the position of the releasing andactuating levers when moved to release the blind for exposure. Fig. 4.is a side elevation showing part of mechanism in position for a timeexposure the arresting lever having been moved into the path of the stoppin. Fig. 5. is a sectional elevation through the blinds and blindrollers showing the blinds in normal position similar to Fig. 1. Fig. 6.is a similar sectional elevation showing the relative positions of thetwo blinds at the commencement of their travel for an instantaneousexposure, similar to Fig. 3. Fig. 7. is a side elevation of amodification of a narrow shutter plate showing the mechanism in normalposition. Fig. 8. is a side elevation of same showing the position ofthe releasing and actuating le- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. July 19, 1909.

Patented Nov. 22., 1910.

Serial No. 508,498.

vers when moved to release the blind for exposure. Fig. 9. is a frontelevation of Fig. 8. Fig. 10. is a side elevation showing mechanism forreturning the capping blind to normal position particularly in shuttershavmg a wide opening where the capping blind has not suflicient forceapplied by the spring. Fig. 11. is a side elevation of same showingactuating levers in moved position. Fig. 12. is a front elevationshowing mechanism for cutting out of gear the capping blind when it hasdescended just suflicient for its opaque portion to cover the opening.Fig. 13. is a front elevation of same showing capping blind cut out.Fig. 14. is a front elevation of an arrangement for making an exposurebyusing the capping blind alone, with a'shut-ter same as shown in Figs. 1to 5. Fig. 15. is a side elevation of an arrangement for making anexposure by means of a blind descending and ascending with a shutter asshown in Figs. 7 to 9.

The shutter is constructed with two blinds A and B which travel inunison in a downward direction to effect an exposure and travelseparately in the reverse direction the blind A to cover or cap theexposure aperture and the blind B to set the shutter prior to anexposure. The capping blind A is connected directly to the lower rollerC which is a plain roller running freely in bearings and by tapes orcords a to an upper roller C which is a spring driven roller. Thesetting blind B is connected directly to the upper roller D which is aplain roller running freely in bearings and by tapes or cords b to thelower roller D which is a spring driven roller. The strength of thedriving spring (Z of the roller D is greater than that of the spring 0of the roller C so that the spring cl can draw the two blinds A. and Bolf the top rollers G and D simultaneously and at any desired speedwhile the strength of the driving spring 0 is only sufiicient to drawthe capping blind A back to normal position when the connection betweenit and the blind B is released or withdrawn.

The spindle of the blind roller D is fitted at its endwith a pinion e togear with a setting wheel E pivoted on a stud on the side of the shutterframe and the spindle of the driving roller D isfitted with a pinion fto gear with a carrier Wheel F. The spindle of the capping blind rollerC is also fitted with a pinion f to gear with the carrier wheel F. Thecarrier wheel F is pivoted on a rocking lever G fulcrumed upon the spindle of the roller C behind the pinion f so that the teeth of the pinionf and wheel F are permanently in mesh whereas the teeth of the pinion fand wheel F are normally out of gear (see Fig. 1) until the lever isrocked forward to bring them' into mesh (see Fig. 3.) The wheel F isstripped of a few teeth-in part of its periphery to allow free movementof the pinionand roller D and a toothed segment is attached to the sideof the wheel F to insure continuous gearing with the pinion f, the teethof the pinion f being broader than the teethof the. pinion The settingwheel E is provided with a winding knob E by which it and the pinion 6can be rotated to windthe setting blind B upon the roller D and draw itaway from the exposure aperture until'its edge Z) is clear of the edge aof the capping blind A so as they travel together there is'a slitbetween the two edges. The rotation of the wheels E and'@ and windingofthe blind B on the roller D draw the tapes 1) off the spring roller Dand tighten the spring (Z so that when releasedthe spring acts to rewindthe tapes 6 on the roller D an'ddraw down the blind B across theexposure aperture of the shutter. The setting wheel E is held in its setposition by'a pawl e which engages with the teeth on its periphery beingheld in contact therewith by a spring 6 Two studs or pegs h h are fittedtothe face of the setting wheel E the stud It being further from thecenter of the wheel than the stud it. A stop lever H is pivoted on theframe atone side ofthe' wheel E with a hooked endh hen in normalposition for an instantaneous exposure th'e'hooked member 7&2 is in thepath of the stud 72 (see Figs. 1 to 8) and when set for a time exposureitis moved'into'the path of the stud 71 (see Fig. 4E.) It is held inthis latter position by a flat spring 72,3 a'projection on the side ofwhich springs into an indent or recess on the side of the lever H; Astop lever J is pivoted to the frame and trans verse to the rockinglever G and'is engaged by a pin 7' on the wheel F.

A releasing lever K is pivoted to the side of the frame and is connectedby a link L with the rocking lever G and is so placed that the upper endwhen movedwill contact with the tail of the pawl e. The movement of thelever K therefore moves simultaneously the rocking lever G and the pawlc bringing the carrier wheel F into mesh with the pinion f on the springroller D and releasing the setting wheel E. The two blinds are drawndown simultaneously by the action of the spring (Z in the roller D untilthe rotation of the setting wheel E is arrested by the hooked end 71 ofthe stop lever H engaging the stud 71.. The stop lever H is brought intoposition for a time exposure (see Fig. l) by rotating the wheel E untilthe stud it engages the back of the lever which is thereby thrownforward into the path of the stud 71-, and on the wheel E being releasedby the withdrawal of the pawl 6 its rotation of the wheel is stopped bythe hook if engaging the stud l1 and at the same time the travel orunwinding of the blind-B from the roller D is stopped at the time theedge I) is at the top of the exposure aperture the tapes I) only havingbeen unwound therefrom and wound upon the'spring' driven roller D. Atthe same time the capping blind A has been drawn down leaving the wholeof the exposing aperture uncovered and so ren'lains until therockinglever G is allowed to spring back carrying the" wheel F out ofgear with the pinion 7' when the capping blind A is drawn back by itsspring roller C.

The capping blind A is so set upon its rollers that the top edge (4travels from the top of the exposure aperture each time it is released.And the exposure blind i5 is so set upon its rollers that its lower edgeII can be drawn up to coincide with the edge a of the capping blind orit can be wound up on the roller C to any distance the tapes 6 beingwithdrawn from the spring roller D. The further the blind B wound up onthe roller D so far will the edge a of the capping blind A be in advanceof the edge (3 and the slit or opening between the two edges will becorrespondingly wide. T o allow the exposure blind B to follow the capping blind A and close the exposure aperture after the edge a of thelatter has reached the bottom'of the exposure aperture, the toothlesspart of the periphery of the carrier wheel F comes opposite to thepinion f thereby disengaging the latter therefrom which leaves theroller D free to rotate and wind on the blind B without further rolationof the roller C. The distance which the blind B is wound up is indicatedby the arrow heads or other marks on the face of the setting wheel E theend of the pawl c acting as a pointer or indicator.

A modifiedarrangement of the rclaising and controlling levers andmechanism shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 by which the parts canbe placed uponor accommodated to a narrower shutter plate. The blinds It and B and therollers C C D D are arranged as hereinbcfore described with a pinion onthe roller D a pinion f on the roller D and a pinion 7" on the roller Cand a carrier wheel F on a rocking lever G. rocking lever G is pivotedon the spindle of the roller D and the wheel F is permanently in gearwith the pinion f and when rocked the wheel F is brought into gear withthe pinion f on the roller C of the capping blind. The setting wheel Eis geared to the pinion e of the top roller D by a train of wheelsthereby obtaining a smaller or narrower wheel. A ratchet wheel 0 isplaced on the spindle of the roller D with which a pawl c engages. Theratio of the wheels forming the train between the setting wheel E andthe pinion c is such that the wheel E performs one revolution during thetravel of the blind B from top to bottom when the blinds are set to givethe largest slit or opening. An indicating dial L is fitted to the bossof the setting wheel E. The stop lever or plate H with a hooked end ]L2is mounted on the shutter frame to slide longitudinally being held inposit-ion by headed screws or pins 7L and 7& passed through slotstherein. The stop lever H is made with two members 72, and Its thehooked member 71,2 being cranked to slide over the front side of thesetting wheel E and the member 72, being fiat to slide behind thesetting wheel E.

The setting wheel E is provided with two studs or pins 2' and '11 oneprojecting from the face and the other projecting from the hack and themember if of the stop lever H is provided with a pin or stud h which isplaced in the path of the pin 6 when the lever H is moved up for timeexposure.

The pawl e is raised by a link or lever M with an incline m at its lowerend with which an incline m on the rocking lever G engages.

()n the side of the stop lever H a rib or projection 72 is raised withwhich a pin 9 on the rocking lever G engages to hold it in its raisedposition during a time exposure against the action of the spring whichdraws it back.

The stop lever H is normally in the position shown in Fig. 7, when setfor an instautal'ieous exposure and when released the setting wheel Erotates until the pin 2' rests against the head of the hooked member if.To set stop lever H for time exposure the wheel E is rotated until thepin 6 engages the hook 71 and raises the stop lever H into the positionshown in Fig. 8, thereby lifting the pin 71- above and into the path ofthe pin '2 so that when the blinds are released the rotation of thewheel E is arrested by the pin 2" engaging the pin IV.

To release the blinds the rocking lever G, is pressed inward at itsupper end, the incline m thereon acting on the incline m of the lever Mraises it and releases the pawl e and simultaneously the wheel F isthrown into engagement with the pinion f.

In the arrangement shown inFigs. 10 and 11 a train of wheels a n arecarried on a rocking lever N to connect the pinion e on the cappingblind roller 0 with the setting wheel E either to assist the spring 0 orin substitution therefor to automatically return the capping blind A toits position covering the lens or exposure aperture. The rocking lever Nis so pivoted as when raised to withdraw the wheel u out of engagementwith the setting wheel E and the wheel u out of engagement with theroller pinion c. The lever N is aised by a lever if placed. between thereleasing lever K and the pawl e. The mechanism in other respects worksin the manner already described. During the exposure the wheels n and aare moved out of gear but during the process of setting the shutter thewheels at and n are in gear and by the rotation of the setting wheel thecapping blind A is returned or assisted to return to its normalposition.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 12 and 13 the tapes a attached to thecapping blind A are shortened so that the blind is only allowed toascend and descend just suflicient for its opaque portion to cover, anduncover, the exposure opening, so that in the making of an exposure withany desired aperture, the two blinds A and B travel down together, untilthe capping blind A has uncovered the opening of the shutter box. hen itreaches this position the tapes (4 prevent it traveling around farther,and at the same time as it reaches this position it is thrown out ofgear with the blind B, which continues to travel down, and complete theexposure. The pinion 7 attached to the capping blind roller C is thrownout of mesh with the wheel F by a screwed spindle c to which it isafiixed working in a threaded bearing 0 in the side plate of the shutterand passing through the roller C.

The pinion f is firmly fixed to the spindle c which slides through theroller bushes fast to the roller. A flat portion of the spindle and apin in the bush insure the roller and spindle revolving together, but donot prevent the spindle from sliding through the bushes of the roller.The end of the spindle 0 terminates in an enlarged threaded part G whichworks in a threaded bearing 0 fastened to the side of the shutter box. Aslight movementis permitted between this bearing and the shutter box,which prevents the spindle from binding, if the threads of the screwshould be out of true. When the shutter is set ready to make anexposure, the capping blind A is across the opening and pinion f andspindle c are screwed in as shown in Fig. 12. As the blinds run down inmaking an ex posure, the pinion f is gradually forced away from theintermediate wheel F being so adjusted, that it comes out of gear with Fwhen the capping blind has crossed the opening as in Fig. 13 thusallowing the blind B and wheels 7 and F to revolve until the blind B hascrossed the opening. Directly the pinion f becomes disengaged from thewheel F the spring in the spring roller C of the capping blind Areverses the direction of rotation of the pinion 7" and tends to screwit in again, but is prevented until the exposure is completed, as thewheel F is still revolving in the opposite direction and so keeps itscrewed out. hen the exposure is completed and the intermediate wheel Fis withdrawn from the pinion f to its normal position as in Fig. 12 itno longer prevents the pinion f from screwing in and so it is free toreturn to its first position. In some instances, particularly inshutters having a wide opening, it is an advantage to keep the toproller under weak spring tension. In other respects the mechanism is thesame as that already described.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 14: time exposures can be effected byworking the capping blind alone similar to the method adopted forfocusing. This is particularly applicable for shutters of large size. Adrum 0 is attached to the end of the spindle of the capping blind rollerC or to the intermediate wheel F when the same is in permanent gear withthe pinion A cord 0 of su'liicient length to rotate the roller C iswound upon the drum 0. The cord 0 may be operated by a direct pull byhand, or by a lever O acting in conjunction with any of the usualpneumatic or wire releases. An extending sleeve on the capping blindroller C has a threaded part on which the drum O can be screwed. Thecord 0 is wound around the drum 0, one end being attached to same, thesecond end being fastened to the lever O hinged to the bottom of theshutter box. A pneumatic bulb 0 is placed between the box and the lever,which is expanded by means of a ball or bellows connected to same by atube. On expanding the bulb 0 the lever O is forced away thus operatingthe roller and capping blind.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 15 the capping blind A is worked alonefor time exposure. A toothed drum P is pivoted on a rocking arm 7) and acoiled spring 2; under tension is inclosed within it. The toothed drum Pis normally held out of gear with the capping blind roller C.

One end of the coiled spring 7) is attached to the toothed drum, theother end to the winding key 72 fixed to the central stud 79 This stud72 is fixed tightly to the rocking arm 7) so that while it can be turnedby aid of the winding key, the spring 7) is not strong enough to turnthe stud. The drum P is prevented from running down when the spring p iswound up by a spring pawl 72. It will be seen that when the spring 7) istensioned, and the arm 7) pushed over, the drum P will revolve directlyit leaves the end of the pawl 0 which does not take place until the drumhas gone into gear with the pinion f. The drum then winds down thepinion and blind and makes the exposure. To complete the exposure, thearm is allowed to return by means of the spring 72 to its normalposition, thereby withdrawing the teeth of the drum P from the pinion f,the pinion being free, the spring 0 in the roller C at once pulls up thecapping blind and covers the opening. Spring p will need resettingbefore another exposure can be made in this manner. The arm 7) can beoperated by a pin on an antinous wire mechanism, or ball and tube can befitted to ope ate the arm. Making exposures by means 01": one blinddescending and ascending, has the advantage of giving the foreground ofthe picture a more prolonged ex- A posure than that accorded to theopposite side of the plate.

lVhat- I claim as my invention and desire to protect by Letters Patentis:

1. In a photographic shutter the combination with two blinds travelingin the same direction and means for releasing such blinds to travelsimultaneously of means by which the capping blind is disconnected fromthe exposure blind and permitted to travel separately toautomaticallyreturn and cover the exposure aperture substantially asdescribed.

2. In a photographic shutter, the combination with two blinds, of adriving roller carried by one blind, a roller carried by the otherblind, gearing connecting the rollers to cause the blinds to travelsimultaneously, and means for disconnecting the blinds.

3. In a photographic shutter, the combination with two blinds andmechanism for releasing said blinds, of rollers carried by the blinds,pinions on said rollers, a rocking plate and a gear wheel mounted onsaid plate and permanently in engagement with one of said pinions andadapted to mesh temporarily with the other pinion.

d. In a photographic shutter the combination with two blinds and rollersupon which they are respectively mounted and pinions on the ends of therollers, of a setting wheel to gear with the top roller a pawl to engagetherewith, pins or projections on the setting wheel, a movable stoppiece to arrest the rotation of the wheel, a carrier wheel to gear thebottom rollers and connect them, a rocking lever on which the carrierwheel is pivoted to hold it permanently in gear with one roller andtemporarily in gear with the other roller and means for moving theretaining pawl and the rocking lever simultaneously substantially asdescribed.

In a photographic shutter the combination with two blinds A and Brollers C C and D D upon which they are respectively mounted and pinionse f f on the ends of the rollers of the setting wheel E engaging thepinion c of the top roller, a pawl 6, pins or projections h h on thesetting wheel E, a movable stop piece H to arrest the rotation of thesetting wheel, a spring h to retain the stop piece H in position, arocking lever G, a carrier wheel 1* thereon gearing with the pinions 7 fand a lever K by which the pawl 6 and the rocking lever F aresimultaneously moved substantially as described.

6. In a photographic shutter the combination with two blinds and meansfor setting and releasing same of a rocking lever G and a gear wheel Fpivoted thereon which is permanently in gear with the pinion on oneroller and is temporarily brought into gear with the pinion on the otherroller to cause the two blinds to travel simultaneously and to permit ofone returning separately to normal position substantially as described.

7. In a photographic shutter the combination with two blinds, rollersupon which hey are mounted, means for setting and releasing the twoblinds together and means for connecting the two blinds together so thatone may return independently of the other of means by which the cappingblind can be alone operated to eitect a time exposure substantially asdescribed.

8. In a photographic shutter the combination with two blinds, rollersupon which they are mounted, means for setting and releasing the twoblinds together and means for connecting the two blinds together so thatone may return independently of the other of a drum on the spindle ofthe capping blind roller and a lever, spring and cord by which thecapping blind can be operated independently of the mechanism of theother blind to effect a time exposure substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses this 7th day of July, 1909.

FRANK PHILIP VVHITEHEAD.

Witnesses J. OWDEN OBRIEN, H. THOMPSON.

